Privacy Practices

Georgetown County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs’ Privacy Practices

Your Information. Your Rights. Our Responsibilities.

This notice describes how medical information about you may be used and disclosed and how you can get access to this information. Please review it carefully.

Your RightsYou have the right to:

Get a copy of your paper or electronic medical record

Correct your paper or electronic medical record

Request confidential communication

Ask us to limit the information we share

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared your information

Get a copy of this privacy notice

Choose someone to act for you

File a complaint if you believe your privacy rights have been violated

Your ChoicesYou have some choices in the way that we use and share information as we:

Tell family and friends about your condition

Provide disaster relief

Include you in a hospital directory

Provide mental health care

Raise funds

Our Uses and DisclosuresWe may use and share your information as we:

Treat you

Run our organization

Bill for your services

Help with public health and safety issues

Do research

Comply with the law

Respond to organ and tissue donation requests

Work with a medical examiner or funeral director

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government
requests

Respond to lawsuits and legal actions

Your Rights

When it comes to your health information, you have certain rights. This section explains your rights and some of our responsibilities to help you.

Get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record

You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this.

We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your
request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

Ask us to correct your medical record

You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete.
Ask us how to do this.

We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days.

Request confidential communications

You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address.

We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

Ask us to limit what we use or share

You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care.

If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

Get a list of those with whom we’ve shared information

You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six
years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why.

We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months.

Get a copy of this privacy notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.

Choose someone to act for you

If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information.

We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

File a complaint if you feel your rights are violated

You can complain if you feel we have violated your rights by contacting us using the information on page 1.

You can file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil
Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-
877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.

We will not retaliate against you for filing a complaint.

Your Choices

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care

Share information in a disaster relief situation

Include your information in a hospital directory

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

Marketing purposes

Sale of your information

Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

In the case of fundraising:

We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

Our Uses and Disclosures

How do we typically use or share your health information?

We typically use or share your health information in the following ways:

Treat you

We can use your health information and share it with other professionals who are treating you.Example: A doctor treating you for an injury asks another doctor about your overall health condition.

Run our organization

We can use and share your health information to run our practice, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.Example: We use health information about you to manage your treatment and services.

Bill for your services

We can use and share your health information to bill and get payment from health plans or other entities.Example: We give information about you to your health insurance plan so it will pay for your services.

How else can we use or share your health information?

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see:

We can share health information about you for certain situations such as:

Preventing disease

Helping with product recalls

Reporting adverse reactions to medications

Reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence

Preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety

Do researchWe can use or share your information for health research.

Comply with the lawWe will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

Respond to organ and tissue donation requestsWe can share health information about you with organ procurement organizations.

Work with a medical examiner or funeral directorWe can share health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.

Address workers’ compensation, law enforcement, and other government requestsWe can use or share health information about you:

For workers’ compensation claims

For law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official

With health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law

For special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services

Respond to lawsuits and legal actionsWe can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order, or in response to a subpoena.

Georgetown County Board of Disabilities and Special Needs will soon become a member of the South Carolina Health Information Exchange (“SCHIEx”) via SCDDSN and electronic records Therap. Your privacy and your personal health information are protected by federal and state law. Those federal and state laws also govern the way your personal and electronic health information is used or shared through SCHIEx. Your doctors and other health care providers will use and share your electronic health information with other doctors and health care providers, involved in your care, through SCHIEx EXCHANGE to provide, coordinate, or manage your health care and any related services.

SCHIEx EXCHANGE members may include health care providers licensed in the State of South Carolina, including medical doctors, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, podiatrists, pharmacists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Members also may include organizations such as hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, home health agencies, pharmacies, case management providers, tele-monitoring providers, health information exchanges and organizations within which eligible individuals practice. We may also share your personal health information through SCHIEx EXCHANGE with agencies that audit, investigate, and inspect health programs for the health and safety of the public. We may submit information as required by law, including but not limited to: immunization data, quality reporting data, and communicable disease data to a state or federal agency.

You may ‘Opt Out’ of SCHIEx EXCHANGE. By opting out, your personal health information will not be shared through SCHIEx EXCHANGE.

If you wish to opt out of SCHIEx EXCHANGE, you must ask for, complete, and sign an Opt Out form that tells us in writing that you do not want your personal health information included in or shared through SCHIEx EXCHANGE.

Our Responsibilities

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.

We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or
security of your information.

We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.

We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

Changes to the Terms of this NoticeWe can change the terms of this notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you. The new notice will be available upon request, in our office, and on our web site.

Other Instructions for Notice

Effective 7/24/17

Contact Elizabeth Krauss 843-546-8228

We will not share your records without your written permission except for above disclosed health reasons.

Who We Serve

People with Mental Retardation and Related Disabilities

People with Autism

People with Traumatic Brain Injury And/Or Spinal Cord Injury (Hasci) And Similar Disabilities